Patty Griffin On World Cafe

It's a middle-age milestone, dealing with a parent's death. Singer-songwriter Patty Griffin turns the experience into powerful moments on her latest album, American Kid. The album features songs inspired by everything from her dad exclaiming "Don't let me die in Florida!" to the gleam in her grandfather's eye on his own wedding day.

Since winning a Grammy for her gospel album Downtown Church, Griffin has been touring with Robert Plant in Band of Joy; the two have made their own home together in Austin, Texas. Griffin joined us to play four songs from American Kid, and to tell some stories about her father.